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I'm not sure if you're planning on cup feeding, but if you were to put crickets straight into the enclosure they may escape through the drain. It might be worth it to put some mesh or something over the drain. Awesome setup!

Avid Member

amazing minds I see here. funny, we always manage to make drain systems yet we have to make them up as we go. No standard in the business. I am on the table right now trying to design one myself since I decided to go all out and make a super cage. I saw a few in here that were simple and brillant but I think we need to slope it or funnel it so the water can run freely. I want to be able to make a system I can run water non stop and never have to worry about flooding.

I keep looking for designs to make my cage but drainage is always my concern

Established Member

I know whatcha mean. i was searching out specific sizes of shower pans, but was looking at about 100 bucks at least for size(s) I wanted. I definitely had alot more fun creating what I did on my own. Our enclosures and set ups will always be works in progress. I too have taken ideas and advice from many many forum members, and incorporated them into my indoor and outdoor enclosures. I love the challenge.

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Established Member

You are probably getting over spray and over drippage running down the screen sides and YES its dripping off the edges of the enclosure. LLL sells something that probably could help you. You also might want to get something like corrugated plastic panels to use as reflectors to keep you drips inside. Put these reflectors on the back and sides of the enclosure. I double side tape them to the frame. I got 30"x36" panels in the glass and plexi department area of lowes. They were like $8 bucks a piece.

Since I did this custom stand and drip pan, I built one new cage that is now 24" wide. 2nd one will get built this spring. I have big summer enclosures out in the yard, but these are my stormy weather and winter enclosures that come inside. Currently the corrugated plastic is only in between the two cages to block the view, but I have pieces to velcro on the backs and sides when everything comes inside.

Established Member

you are going to need to re pot it. get a good organic potting soil, vermiculite, play sand, and river rock. put a layer of sand in the bottom approximate 1", then use a 50/50 mix of the soil and vermiculite to put the plant in. cover up to the top of the root ball leaving about another 1-2" to the top of the pot. add one more layer of sand, and then top off w/ river rock. this will let the water drain thru very nicely and at the same time retain enough for your schefflera.

New Member

Member

If any body lives in Omaha Nebraska and wants to show me how to turn a shelf of some sort into a drainage system, the help would be very much appreciated :] I currently have my chameleons cage on top of two bookshelf speakers with a large tupperware underneath. The tupperware has a hole in it that connects a tube into another bucket on the ground that I can dump out easily. However, something more stable would probably be good

New Member

New Member

Hello all, Im new to the forum and new to owning a chameleon, but Ive owned many reptiles so I know how it goes. Im in he finishing process of building my cage, so Ill post a few of the drainage system since I have that complete.

I have a pump in the tub connected to a tube so I don't have to carry a bucket to the tub to dump, I just plug and go.

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New Member

I'm building my own cage too, and I was just trying to figure out a good drainage system as well. I finally figured out what I'm going to do though. I am going to use a drill to screw a plastic tote to the bottom of my cage , which is on stilts, drill a hole in the tote and the floor just underneath and run a hose from the tote to outside via the hole in the floor. Easy and done with!

Member

Went with a dragon strand large keeper cage, ledges and the substrate bottom, with can be easily removed whenever an excess of water collects or needs cleaning. Will post all pictures as soon as it arrives.

Member

I basically copied Supergirls idea of putting a Repti-breeze in a bakers rack. Then a Tupperware tub for drainage. The Monsoon is on the bottom shelf and it works great. I never have to water my plants. Chance Leon gets to drink plenty of water from the leaves. I did wrap three sides of the enclosure with a very heavy plastic sheet that stands on its own almost to keep the over spray water in the bin.
The bakers rack is great for separating from the screen and arranging the lights and dripper on top.
He is a happy cham. I have low maintenance and that make me happy.
Greg

Avid Member

New Member

Not sure if this should go here or the enclosure thread, but since the most novel thing about it is the drainage, so here we go...

My wife is a 4th/5th grade teacher. She wanted a class pet and the overwhelming number of votes (plus her preference) went toward a chameleon.

Wanting to do things right, I got a 2'x2'x4' aluminum screen enclosure from lllreptiles plus a mistking timer, mistking dual head mister, simple timer, and a dual socket lamp with UV and heat bulbs. Plants came from the local Orchard Supply Hardware: the usual pathos, ficus, and hibiscus mix replanted in 3gal pots with river rock armoring. Extra manzanita climbing branches from the back yard rounds things out on the inside. The whole enclosure sits on a metal cabinet that my mother-in-law's work was getting rid of that I repainted with some glitter paint.

For watering and drainage I was lucky enough to be next to a sink so I avoided the whole bucket and pump routine. I put a shower drain in the lllreptile drain pan with a bunch of adapter fittings to go from the 2" shower drain to a 1/4" push lock fitting. This was then connected to a saddle fitting on the sink drain pipe (usually used for reverse osmosis installs).

Water supply used a sweet little adapter that fits between the sink water valve and hose with a 1/4" push lock tee and shutoff valve. This is routed to a solenoid controlled by the mistking timer, then to the misters.